Readers Guide: ‘Blood & Beauty’ tells of Borgia’s rise to papacy

Historian Joseph E. Persico takes a lively new look at World War II and President Roosevelt’s active participation as Commander in Chief. “Roosevelt’s Centurions” (973.917) illuminates FDR’s relationships with the brilliant, ego-driven men he worked hard to lead, including Douglas MacArthur, Geor...

Comment

By Susie Stooksbury

Oakridger - Oak Ridge, TN

By Susie Stooksbury

Posted Aug. 26, 2013 at 6:35 PM

By Susie Stooksbury

Posted Aug. 26, 2013 at 6:35 PM

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Historian Joseph E. Persico takes a lively new look at World War II and President Roosevelt’s active participation as Commander in Chief. “Roosevelt’s Centurions” (973.917) illuminates FDR’s relationships with the brilliant, ego-driven men he worked hard to lead, including Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, and crusty “Vinegar” Joe Stilwell, as well as his British counterpart Winston Churchill.

At first, the war in Italy barely seems to touch the aristocratic Rosati family as their lives go on as usual in their villa in Tuscany. Then one day two soldiers come — one German and one Italian — and ask to see the Etruscan burial site on their property. Before long the Nazis move in making the Rosatis — Antonio, Beatrice, and their three children — virtually prisoners. Twelve years later, someone begins brutally murdering the surviving members of the family. The case goes to Serafina Bettin, who is with the Florence Police. A former resistance fighter the Rosatis once helped, Serafina must relive heartbreaking memories of the war in order to stop the killer. “The Light in the Ruins” is by talented Chris Bohjalian.

While delivering the eulogy for the literary lion A.N. Dyer, his childhood friend, Charlie Topping, who made his own splash many years ago with a cult classic novel about teen age angst, has an epiphany of sorts. This brush with mortality inspires him to set things right with his three sons — Richard, an aspiring screenwriter; Jamie, a burned-out documentary filmmaker; and their much younger half-brother, Andy, whose birth has never been fully explained. Dyer’s admiring son, Philip, is our storyteller in David Gilbert’s clever new book, “& Sons.”

In case you have ever wondered why the airlines no longer provide in-flight meals or why you have to pay a baggage fee, Mark Gerchick tells you in “Full Upright and Locked Position: the Not-so-Comfortable Truths about Air Travel Today” (387.742). A former counsel for the FAA, Gerchick covers the ramifications that Sept. 11 and high fuel costs have had on airlines. He also reveals what you don’t need to be concerned about while in flight — turbulence, for instance — and what you do need to worry about — like snoozing pilots and air traffic controllers.

If you didn’t get enough of the Borgia family on Showtimes’ popular series, you can visit with them once again in a new book by historical novelist Sarah Dunant. “Blood & Beauty” follows the rise of Rodrigo Borgia as he manipulated his way to becoming Pope Alexander VI in 1492. At that point in time, the papacy was more about politics than religion, and Rodrigo had an equally ruthless family to help him attain power: his son, Cesare, who was even more politically gifted than his father, and Cesare’s sister, the fatally lovely Lucrezia.

Page 2 of 2 - Perhaps best known for her common sense work on young girls (”Reviving Ophelia”) and aging parents (”Another Country”), psychologist Mary Pipher now explores our response to the environmental issues we can no longer afford to ignore. She tells how she worked against the Keystone XL pipeline, which was planned to cross her beloved Nebraska, illustrating that even individuals taking small steps can make a big difference. “The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture” (303.400) is her latest book.